Straightening machine



Jan. 17, 1928. i

F. HUFF STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Filed Spt. 19, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 TTO/Q/VEYS ZN VE/V Tag 1 FERN-K Hun 5% g 7 Jan. 17, 1928.

I F. HUFF STRAIGHIENING' MACHINE 3 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Sept. 19, 1925 I [A/ vs/v roe fDP/M X 1/ UFF.

Jan. 17, 1928. 1,656,376

F. H U FF STRAIGHTENING MACHINE 53 I N VE/V 70E,

Patented Jan. 1 7 1928.

UNITED STATES FRANK .HUFF, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

srancn'rnmive madam.

Application filed September 19, 1925. Serial No. 57,284.

The primary object of niy invention is to,

provide a machine of the character described, aving a plurality of feed-rolls that are conoaved and are mounted to revolve on a horizontal plane, diagonally to the center line of the machine, with the material to be straightened to be passed over the top of said feedrolls, instead of against the sides thereof as has heretofore been necessary, due to the fact that the straightening-machines now manufactured have their feed-rolls mounted vertically instead of horizontall By arranging the said feed-r0 is in a horizontal position, I have entirely eliminated the end-thrust which is common in all machines having the feed-rolls mounted on an incline vertically, said-end-thrust being caused by the enormous weight of said feedrolls bearing against the lower inner ends of the bearings of said machines.

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine of the character described, having all of its feed-rolls and shafts mounted to revolve in suitable self lubricating-bearings; this. being made possible ow ing to the fact that the said feed-rolls and shafts are mounted on a horizontal plane insirtead )of being inclined vertically. (See ig. 1. a

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine? of the character described, having all of its gears at all times submer ed and running in oil, this being made ossi le because of the fact that all feed-r0 is and other working parts of the machine are mounted on a horizontal plane, thus permitting the use of suitable gear-casings containing asuitable supply of'oil.

Heretofore it has been found impossible to sufficiently lubricate the gears or bearings of the straightening-machines now in use, be- .cause of the fact that all gears and bearings, likewise the feed-rolls of said machines are mounted on an incline vertically to the center line thereof, preventing the use of cal-caslugs and self lubricating bearings, t e result being that the said bearings become dry causing them to run hot, and burn out, whilethe gears, revolving at a high rate of speed causin the centrifugal force to throw the oil off 0 said gears causing them to become dry and wear rapidly. i

A further object of myinvention is to rovide a machine of the character described, hav ng a frame that is cast in the form of the well-known Lbeam having top and bottom flanges; the working parts of the machine being mounted upon the top flat surface of the top flange thereof, by means of bolts instead of the well-known cap-screws straightening-machines now manufactured.

The above is considered a great improvement in the art of straightening-machines of this class, because, when a cap-screw is broken off, it is necessary'to stop the machine, drill out that ortion ofv the screw that remains in the ole, reta said hole and re place a new cap-screw, ut with the frame of my machine, should a bolt be broken off, all that is necessary-is to secure another bolt and insert it into the hole andtighten it up and continue with the straightening of the material with very little loss of time.

Anotherobject in making the frame of the machine of the I-beam shape is because it adds to the strength thereof and also prevents crystallization, which is caused mainly which are now commonly used on the.

by the violent jars and shocks the machine is subject to when in operation, as said machines are built for heavy 'duty in rollin -mill service, and it is well-known to those s 'lled in the art of straightening round bars and the like, that the said bars or other material before being straightened, are of very uneven size and have short kinks and bends, as well as fiat places in them and which, when passing said bars or like material between the feed-rolls, causes the free {ends ofsaid bars or like material, to lash and :whip, causing a tremendous shock or jar to the machine, and in time causing crystallization of the frames thereof. i a

A further object of my invention is to pro vide a machine of the character described, that may be automatically fed by any mechanical device such as power driven roll conveyors, (not shown) which may besituated at the same height as that of the feedrolls of the machine, and in front thereof.

The straightening-machines that are now in use in the rolling-mills are so constructed as to be'unable to be fed automatically, and to feed the machines, it is necessary to hire several men to handle the material to be straightened and feed it into the machine by, hand.

This form of labor is very dangerous and very difiicult, because of the fact that as above stated, the free ends of the bars lash and whip, and very often injure those feeding the machines.

A further object of my invention is to provide'a machine of the character described, having idler-rolls that are mounted on a horizontal plane, diagonally to the centerline of the machine, directly above the said feed-rolls; said idler-rolls being mounted to revolve in yokes attached to cross-heads that are adjustable upwardly and downwardly upon upright standards, and are adapted to bear against the top round portion of the bars or like material while the latter are passing over the top of said feed-rolls, the adjustment being made possible by means of pressure-screws that are rigidly connected to said cross-heads.

A further obj ect'of my invention is to roappearance of the material, but, .with the cold rolling process of semi-finished material such as turned, drawn, round or extruded material, an exact uni orm size, together with a perfectly smooth and polished finish is obtained, thereby turning out a finished product. A further object of my invention is to provide a machine of the character described that will eliminate the necessityof reversing the motion of the machine in the event the material is not perfectly straightened in its first passage through the machine.

Heretofore it has been necessary to provide the strai htening-machines with motors of the reversible type, in order that the machine may be reversed, and the material being straightened run through the machine in a reversed direction to give it a second straightening process, but when my machine is used, the material to be straightened needs but one passage through the machine, this being made possible'because of the plurality of feed-rolls and idler-rolls that are embodied in the construction of the machine, thus giving the material as many straightening and cold-rolling processes as desired, this belng a big item in speeding up the production of material as well as preventing loss of time.

A further object of my invention is to'provide a machine of the character described that will be simple in construction, durable in operation, and of low cost to manufacture.

All of the above objects will be readily understood from their descriptions.

and

Fig. 4 is a section of the invention, the section being taken on the line 4.4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, which will now be described, the numeral 1 designates the frame of the machine which may be made of any suitable material, but which is prleferabl cast in the form of the wellown I- eam having a top flange 2, a web 3 and 'a bottom flange 4.

The numeral 5 designates a motor that is preferably of the variable speed-type, but should it be desired to use the well-known belt drive, the different speeds may be obtained by using cone pullys, not shown.

The numeral 6 designates a pinion that is mounted upon the armature-shaft 7 of said motor, said pinion meshing with a gearwheel 8 that is mounted upon an intermediate shaft 9.

Said intermediate shaft 9 carries a pinion 10 which meshes with a gear-wheel 11 that is carried by a shaft 12 also carrying a pinion designated by the numeral-14:, said pinion 14. also meshing with a gear 15 that is mounted upon a roll-shaft 16.

Said shaft 12 is also provided with a pinion that meshes with a gear that is mounted upona roll-shaft 17, said shafts l6 and 17 being mounted to revolve in suitable self lubricating bearings 18, while the shafts 9 and 12 are mounted to revolve in suitable self lubricating bearings designated by the numerals 19.

All of said bearings are mounted upon said top flange 2 of said frame lby means of suitable bolts passing through holes formed in said flange 2 and are secured thereto by means of suitable nuts.

The numerals 20 and 21 designate a pair of large concaved feed-rolls that are mounted on a horizontal plane and diagonally to the center line of the machine.

The said gears above mentioned are incased in suitable gear casings 22 that are provided with suitable oil cups 23, thus permitting said gears to be submerged and running in oil at all times.

The numerals 24 and 25 designate idlerrolls that are mounted upon idler-shafts 26 and 27, while the numeral 28 designates an intermediate pressure or idler-roll that 1s mounted upon an idler-shaft 29, said idlershafts being provided with oil holes 30 that are drilled lengthwise therein, to the center thereof and having an outlet at one side to permit the oil to flow against the inside portion of said idler-rolls, the ends of said idler-shafts 29 being tapped to receive suitable oil-cups 31.

Said idler shafts are ri idly held in yokes 32, 33 and 34 by means 0 tapered-pins 35.

Said ydkes are provided upon their top surfaces with lugs 36 which are machined Y engage u right standards 43 and 44,. the

lower en s of said standards being shouldered and screw-threaded and are adapted to be rigidly secured in holes provided in lugs 45 that are cast integral with the web 3 of the said I-beam frame 1, said standards being heldinto position by means of nuts 46.

Said standards are also shouldered and screw-threaded upon their upper ends, and are adapted to receive a crosslate 47 that is held in position on said stan ards by suitable nuts 48.

,Said cross-plate 47 is provided with a recessed hole into which is inserted a flan ed-' nut 49 that is internallyscrew-threade so as to receive the external screw-threadsof the said ressure screw 42.

Said anged-nut 49 is provided with screw-threads adjacent its upper end to which is screwed a nut 50, the purpose of which will be described later.

Secured to the upper portion of the said flanged-nut 49, adjacent the end thereof, is a beveled-gear 51, the, bottom portion of the hub of said gear 51 being adapted to bear upon the top fiat surface of the said crossplate 47, while the said nut 50. is screwed down upon the upper portion of the hub of said beveled-gear 51 to hold the latter and the said flanged-nut 49 in position.

A cross-shaft 52 carrying a beveled-pinion 53 is mounted to revolve inbearings 54 and 55, said pinion meshing with the saidbeveled-gear 51, said bearing 55 being secured to the said cross-plate 47 by means of a suitable bolt 56.

' Mounted upon the outer free end of the said cross-shaft 52 is a hub 57 that is provided with h plurality hf holes into which mare inserted a plurality of handle-bars 58,

the latter being held into position by means of set-screws 59. v

A set-collar 60 is mounted upon said cross shaft 52 previous to inserting the free end thereof into the bearing 55 said set-collar acting to prevent the said cross-shaft from being pulled out of the bearing 54.

The numerals 61 and 62 designate binderbraces that are clamped down upon the top surfaces of the said crossplates 47 by means of said nuts 48, the former being for the purpose of bracing and binding the top portions of the said cross-plates, thereby equaliziig the strain on each of the upright standar s.

The numeral 63 desi ates a guide that is clamped to the top sur ace of the top flange 2 of the said frame 1 by means of bolts designated by the numeral 64.

The pperation of my invention is as follows The rod, bar, pipe or like material, designated by the numeral 65", is first passed through the guide 63 and over the top of said eed-roll 20, and is clamped down into the contour of said feed-roll 20 by means of the pressure of said idler-roll 24. K

The surface of said idler-rolls may be made either straight, concaved or convexed, according to the design of the machine or the material to be straightened.

The said feed-rolls 20 and 21 being positively driven, causes the rod, bar, pipe or like material to be revolved and driven between said feed-rolls and said idler-rolls in a spiral line, and advanced beneath the intermediate idler-roll 28 where the straightenin process is accomplished.

he cold rolling-process is effected while the material is driven between the said feedroll 20 and the said idler-roll 24, and the the parts as now shown in Fig. 1. Y

It may be well to state here that by manufacturin the machine with the plurality of feed an idler-rolls, as many straightenin and cold-rolling processes may be obtaine as desired with one smgle passage of the material through said machine, thus eliminating the necessity of reversing the motion of the machine, as has heretofore been necessary with the straightening-machines now manufactured, the single passage being a great item In speeding up the production of finished material without loss of time.

which I deemed to be particularly effective,

and have illustrated a construction which is very easy to'be assembled, I do not wish to be limited to these details, as it is Obvious that many changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

7 Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters-Patent is 4 1. A straightening machine of thecharacter described, composed of a suitable frame, upright standards having their lower ortions secured to the top portion of said rame, cross-plates secured. to the top portions of said upright standards; internally screw-threaded flanged nuts adapted to be inserted in recessed holes that are provided in said cross-plates; pressure screws having external screw-threads which are adapted to engage the internal screw-threads of the said flanged-nuts; cross-heads mounted to travel vertically between said upright standards; yokes secured to and carried by said cross-heads, and idler-rolls mounted to revolve insaid yokes; the said yokes and idlerrolls being mounted in a horizontal plane and diagonally to the center line of the machine and in an opposite direction to that of the feed-rolls; the material to be straightened being passed over the to of said feedrolls and under the said i ler-rolls, substantially as described.

2. A straightening machine of the character described, comprising the parts mentioned in the above claim 1, and suitable means for raising and lowering said idlerrolls, substantially as described.

'3. A straightening machine of the character described, composed of a frame, a plurality of power driven concaved feed-rolls mounted in a horizontal plane, diagonally to the-center line of the machine, and mounted on to of said frame; self lubricating bearings 1n which said power driven concaved feed rolls are mounted to revolve; gears for positively driving said feed rolls; suitable gear casings adapted to contain a suitable supply of oil to enable said gears to be submerged and running in oil at all times; up-

right standards having their lower portions secured to the top portion of said frame; cross plates secured to the top portions of said upri ht standards; internally screwthreaded anged nuts which are adapted to be inserted'in recessed holes provided in said cross-plates; pressure-screws having external screw-threads which are adapted to enage the internal screw-threads of the said anged nuts; cross-heads mounted to travel vertically between said upright standards; yokes secured .to and carried by said crosseads; idler rolls mounted to revolve in said yokes secured to and carried by the said cross-heads; said idler 'rolls being mounted is in use, 7 

